Avoid use of the term gaming except in quotations or proper names.” The Associated Press Stylebook says “gambling” is the “preferred term for playing games of chance. It’s one good reason to keep “gaming” reserved for the role-playing variety. But “gaming” needs a context for a reader to understand whether the role-playing or stakes-playing version is meant. The casino industry in recent years has tried to get people to call what they do at casinos “gaming.” But that creates confusion: When someone talks about “gambling,” it’s clear that the wagering games are meant. People who role-play in video games like Call of Duty say they are “gaming,” a usage the The Oxford English Dictionary traces to 1955 in reference to war games.
Then along came videogames, and not the poker ones.
Many people not associated with the industry would call it “gambling.” Inside the industry, the preferred term is “gaming.” The terms have coexisted for years, with “gambling” being the more familiar term for the activity and “gaming” used most frequently for the business. You have to be in Vegas for a conference, and you decide to while some time away at the slots.
